Last of the birding in Peru

By the time we got back to Lima from Cusco, our trip to Peru was almost over with only 2 more excursions left.

This particular trip focused on a small national reserve north of Lima called Lomas de Lachay. This reserve features a unique mist-fed ecosystem of wild plant and animal species. These coastal hills are covered in dry scrub which derives all of its moisture to survive from the fog that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean during June until November.

As a result of this small ecosystem, there is a large number of flora and fauna found close to the trails and road access. I was pretty happy with these images since the sky was high in the sky creating harsh shadows and like all of my images from Peru I was shooting on the fly without the benefits of time.

Our last day of birding focused on the wildlife refuge known as Pantanos de Villa, located in Villa El Salvador on the outskirts of Lima. The refuge is largely a wetland and hosts a number of birds that call this habitat home. We had the privilege of having an expert guide during our visit and help us identify a number of birds in the area. There was limited photography opportunities however I was successful with my target bird, the Many-colored Rush Tyrant with its extravagant attire. I was also able to add the Cinnamon Teal to my life list, a bird whose summer home is in Western North America.

After we finished our tour of Pantanos de Villa, we took a short drive over to the Pacific ocean where there were hundreds perhaps thousands of terns, gulls and other shorebirds. It was quite remarkable to see such a large number of over-wintering visitors that would be familiar to birders in Canada.

My last post about Peru is almost ready so stay tuned for a variety of images of the Peruvian Paso horses!

2 Comments

I’m sorry this is your last South American instalment Arni as each post in the series has been most informative and as always the photography is superb. The pelicans over the cresting wave are terrific and the flock of Elegant Terns must have been a pleasure to see.